Category Archives: Robot Features

This is admittedly old news, but it’s definitely cool enough to post here. Among the many products they create, iRobot has a robotics platform for eduction and tinkering that is called the iRobot Create. See here for a thorough review of this item and a page of different projects they have done internally with the iRobot Create. Among these projects is an amazingly amusing hamster-guided Roomba vacuum cleaner.

It’s hard to make out the mechanism they’re using on this robot project, but it looks like the ball is on some rollers. The rollers are probably hooked up to an optical encoding system, a lot like how the old fashioned computer mice with the balls worked. The Roomba is programmed to adjust its speed and direction to match that of the hamster.

Now all they have to do is figure out how to train the hamster to vacuum the most dirty parts of your floor. Maybe there would be some way to train the hamster to follow your shedding pets or messy kid around the house. Either way, I find it fascinating and amusing at the same time.

There is a new iRobot Roomba on the block. It’s the 532 Pet Series Roomba. As the name would imply, the pet series robot vacuum cleaners are for pet owners. So people with cats and dogs, and the kinds of uniquely canine and feline messes. Cat food, kitty litter, dust bunnies made of hair. Short hair, long hair, and sticky hair. The nice thing with the robot is that you can vacuum every day and keep on top of it. Most obviously, they are designed to pick up pet hair and also the allergens that pet owners face. The iRobot Roomba 562 is designed to clean up to four regular-sized rooms before it needs to charge. Like all other Roombas, it can get into hard-to-reach areas. It comes with two virtual lighthouses and two cleaning bins which can be used in place of one another. One of the bins is a vacuuming bin. The other is a high capacity sweeper bin. As the name would suggest, the high-capacity bin is for heavy duty cleaning in especially hairy areas. Here are some of the features of the Roomba 562 robot vacuum cleaner:

Comes with two virtual wall lighthouses

Rechargeable Battery

Self-Charging Home Base

Two Brush Cleaning Tools

Extra Set of Brushes

Vacuuming Debris Bin

Sweeping Bin is High Capacity

Two Extra Filters

Has three Cleaning Modes

Covered by a Two Year Warranty

3 Hour Charge Power Supply

The Roomba 562 is one of the iRobot robot vacuum cleaners that is able to charge itself in three hours (the charge time for most of the others is seven.)

Like all the iRobot products, the Rhoomba robot vacuum cleaner 562 will avoid cliffs and detect dirt. Here is a feature list for this robot vacuum. (See here for our guide to the Roomba Features.)

Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Warranty: 2 year

Charging Time: 3 Hours

Detects Dirt: Yes

Spot Mode: No

Max Mode: No

Self-Charging Home Base Compatible: Yes

On-Board Scheduling: Yes

Voice Demonstration: No

Light-Touch Bumpers: No

Advanced Anti-Tangle Technology: Yes

Improved Edge and Corner Cleaning: Yes

Room-to-Room Navigation: No

High Capacity Bin: No

Easier Maintenance: No

Wireless Control: Yes

Lighthouse Technology: Yes

Virtual Walls Included: 0

Lighthouses Included: 2

Wireless Command Center Included: No

Extra Brushes: Yes

Carrying Case: No

Extra Filters Included: Yes

Bonus Accessory Kit: No

The iRobot Roomba 532 is just like the Roomba 562 except for the following:

The iRobot Roomba 610 Professional Series is designed especially for cleaning lots of ground and also for places that get lots of traffic, and thus are especially dirty. Here are some of the features of the Roomba 610 robot vacuum cleaner:

Comes with two virtual wall lighthouses

Rechargeable Battery

Comes with an Accessory Kit and Case

Two Brush Cleaning Tools

Extra Set of Brushes

Vacuuming Debris Bin

Sweeping Bin is High Capacity

Two Extra Filters

Has three Cleaning Modes

Covered by a Two Year Warranty

Weighted Professional Home Base

Professional Series Power Supply

The iRobot Roomba 610 monitors where it is sweeping with dozens of sensors. It uses this information to adjust its sweeping up to 67 times each second. iRobot has rated the 610 with a “Room Coverage” score of 4, which means that it should be able to clean four normal sized rooms before needing to recharge its battery. The Roomba 610 is one of the iRobot robot vacuum cleaners that is able to charge itself in three hours (the charge time for most of the others is seven.)

The Rhoomba robot vacuum cleaner 610 Professional Series is designed to provide excellent room coverage. It works on hard floors as well as carpeting. The robot vacuum cleaner will avoid cliffs and detect dirt. They feature technology which keeps them from getting stuck and from bumping into objects too hard. The robot vacuum cleaner will be able to find its way to its charger and can be kept out of areas with virtual walls and lighthouses.